Ergonomic teat

ABSTRACT

A teat for a baby or a child, the teat comprising a plate on which the dental arches rest and defining a bite plane, said plate being terminated towards the front by a vestibular screen against which at least one of the dental arches comes into abutment in a desired position, said plate being secured to means projecting forwards out from the mouth, the teat having a nipple projecting from the rear of the plate, said nipple being in register with the back portion of the tongue when the teat is in operation in the mouth of the baby or child so as to co-operate with the tongue and the palate and stimulate movement analogous to that of suckling.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

“Not Applicable”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

“Not Applicable”

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

“Not Applicable”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates in general to teats for babies and children. Moreprecisely, the invention can be implemented:

in a teat for sucking (or pacifier) of the type given to babies or toyoung children to calm them; or

in a teat for a baby's bottle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pacifiers have been known for a long time that are made out of amaterial such as rubber, comprising a central nipple for co-operatingwith the tongue of a child or a baby. Such pacifiers are generallyprovided with a shield for bearing against the outside surface of thelips, and with a ring handle.

The main function of pacifiers is to distract or pacify the child (hencethe word “pacifier”). Improved models of pacifiers also exist enablingan auxiliary function to be performed, such as administering an activeingredient that the child swallows while sucking the nipple of thepacifier.

Although such pacifiers can constitute a relatively effective solutionto the immediate problem of a restless child, they can nevertheless haveextremely harmful effects on the evolving shape of the child's mouth: awell-known problem in particular lies in the creation of a gap betweenthe upper and lower incisors, since the central nipple constitutes anobstacle to development of the child's incisors.

Pacifiers are also known having a special configuration for limiting thedamage that can be caused in the mouths of children by excessive use ofa pacifier. Examples of such pacifiers are to be found in the followingdocuments: WO 96/20687 (Alanen and Varrella) and FR 2 705 885 (Pick).

The special means of those pacifiers consist in elements for staticallydistributing the forces due to suction. It is possible that thosepacifiers are less harmful to the mouth of a child than are conventionalpacifiers having a central nipple for engaging between the middleportions of the lower and upper dental arches; nevertheless, thosepacifiers are no more than an imperfect response to the causes ofmalformations of the mouth.

One of the major causes of malformations of the mouthparts lies indeficient general operation of the mouth. The most advanced work inneuro-occlusal rehabilitation (NOR) has shown the essential role ofstimulating the functioning of the mouth in achieving balanceddevelopment of the mouthparts (see in particular the work by Prof.Planas “La réhabilitation neuro-occlusale” [Neuro-occlusalrehabilitation]).

From empirical observations made over a long period of time, it has thusbeen possible to validate the hypothesis that it is beneficial forharmonious development of dentition, to cause the stomatognathic systemto function as much as possible, and to do so from birth.

Unfortunately, modem feeding habits do not encourage stimulation of thestomatognathic system: the pap and soft food given to babies, and thegenerally soft nature of modem food, stimulate this system onlypartially and insufficiently.

By way of example, observable consequences include the facial skull notdeveloping sufficiently so that the bottom jaw remains set back too farfrom the top jaw, or teeth that are insufficiently eroded due to noabsence of lateral movements of the jaws and that therefore tend to leadto the jaws locking together due to the teeth of the top jaw jammingmutually with the teeth of the bottom jaw.

Oral appliances such as aligners are known for the purpose of correctingthe above-mentioned malformations; A problem associated with suchappliances is that they are generally poorly accepted by young children,even though it is recognized that the earlier intervention is carried onthe mouthparts, the more it is effective.

To reduce this awkward constraint, “hybrid” devices are known that arepresented in the form of a pacifier that reproduces certaincharacteristics of orthodontic aligners and that are provided with aring for the child to hold. Examples of such devices are to be found indocuments FR 2 595 046 (Giordanno) and EP 0 400 217 (Bergersen).

Nevertheless, those devices are not well accepted by young childrensince they act solely as a constraint and do not provide thesatisfaction associated with sucking, which recalls feeding at thebreast.

In any event those devices are no more than an imperfect solution to theabove-mentioned problems of malformation since:

firstly the devices are poorly accepted by young children so they can beused only once the child has reached an age at which development hasalready advanced; the devices are therefore curative rather thanpreventive, and they do not make it possible to avoid the appearance ofmalformations;

secondly, such devices are naturally “static”, since their function islimited to holding certain organs such as the dental arches in desiredpositions. Thus, that type of device does not stimulate functioning ofthe stomatognathic system even though it is mentioned above that suchstimulation is an important factor in good development of dentition.

The way such devices have evolved is also described in document U.S.Pat. No. 5,814,074, which discloses a pacifier comprising not onlyelements for positioning the dental arches, but also an elementprojecting from the rear of the pacifier in order to co-operate with thetip of the child's tongue.

However that evolution does not provide an adequate solution forstimulating the functioning of the stomatognathic system, insofar as thepacifier of U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,074 does not give rise to functioning ofthe stomatognathic system in a manner analogous to that achieved bysuckling, since it does not interfere with the back of the tongue orwith the palate.

Finally, attempts have been made to stimulate functioning of a child'stongue: document EP 0 199 005 (Rodam SA) teaches a pacifier in which theteat is fixed to elastic means so as to reproduce to some extent the wayin which the mouth of a child is stimulated by the breast and toencourage horizontal movement of the lower dental arch. However,although such a device can be advantageous in terms of stimulatingmovements of the mouth, it does not provide any proper positioning ofthe dental arches.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It can thus be seen that there is a need for teats that can be used bybabies and young children, that act simultaneously:

to stimulate functioning of the various portions of the stomatognathicsystem by giving rise to movements analogous to those performed duringchewing or suckling; and

to properly position said portions (in particular the two dental arches)relative to one another.

An object of the invention is to satisfy that need.

To achieve this object the invention proposes a teat for a baby or achild, the teat comprising a plate on which the dental arches rest anddefining a bite plane, said plate being terminated towards the front bya vestibular screen against which at least one of the dental archescomes into abutment in a desired position, said plate being secured tomeans projecting forwards out from the mouth, the teat beingcharacterized in that it includes a nipple projecting from the rear ofthe plate, said nipple being for co-operating with the tongue tostimulate movement analogous to that of suckling.

Preferred but non-limiting aspects of the teat of the invention are asfollows:

the projecting nipple is connected to the rear of the plate by elasticmeans;

the vestibular screen comprises:

a top portion situated above the bite plane; and

a bottom portion situated below the bite plane and offset rearwardsrelative to the top portion;

the offset between the top and bottom portions of the vestibular screenis about 1 millimeters (mm) to 3 mm;

a substantially vertical wall is integrally formed with the rear edge ofthe plate and co-operates with the vestibular screen to define analigner for receiving the dental arches;

said plate is generally U-shaped, with limbs extending rearwards to therear ends of the dental arches;

the plate, the vestibular screen, and the nipple are integrally molded;

the nipple faces the rear portion of the tongue when the teat is inposition in the mouth of the baby or the child;

the surface of the plate includes abrasive means;

the means projecting forwards out from the mouth comprise a shield forpressing against the front faces of the lips or a handle ring; and

the means projecting forwards out from the mouth comprise an element forclosing a baby's bottle, and the teat has a channel passinglongitudinally therethrough to enable a baby or a child to suck a liquidcontained in the bottle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspects, objects, and advantages of the present invention willappear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferredembodiment given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from behind of a pacifier of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view from behind of the same pacifier, defininglongitudinal section planes III—III and IV—IV;

FIG. 3 is a view of the pacifier of FIGS. 1 and 2, shown in sectionplane III—III;

FIG. 4 is a view of the same pacifier shown in section plane IV—IV;

FIG. 5 is a theoretical diagram showing how a pacifier of the inventiontakes its place in the mouth of a child;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view from behind of a variant embodiment of apacifier of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a teat of the pacifier for a baby'sbottle;

FIGS. 8a and 8 b show two possible shapes for the nipple of a teat ofthe invention;

FIGS. 9a and 9 b are respectively a plan view and a longitudinal sectionview of a pacifier of the invention for a child of less than three yearsof age; and

FIGS. 10a and 10 b are two views corresponding to the views of FIGS. 9aand 9 b, showing a pacifier of the invention for a child of more thanthree years of age.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a pacifier of the invention. This pacifier comprises:

a horizontal plate 10 of generally plane U-shape which is intended tohave its concave end pointing towards the front of the mouth, with theends of the limbs of the U-shape of the plate being directed rearwards.The two main faces of the plate (top face and bottom face) can be madeto be slightly abrasive (by using a mold of appropriate surface state orby depositing a suitable surface coating, for example). The plate 10 isintended to receive the two dental arches of the child on its two facesrespectively; it thus constitutes a bite plane;

a nipple 20 whose center is situated substantially in the same plane asthe plate 10, behind the plate;

an elastic connection portion 30 for connecting the nipple 20 to theback of the plate. The connection between said portion 30 and the plate10 in the present embodiment is provided in the region of the platewhich lies in the middle of the transverse direction of the pacifier;

a wall 40 extending perpendicularly to the plane of the plate from thefront edge thereof. This wall is referred herein as a “vestibularscreen” and it is intended to ensure that the top dental arch of thebaby or child is properly positioned in the plane of the plate 10, withthe dental arch that rests on the plate also coming into abutmentagainst the vestibular screen. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, therear edge of the plate 10 does not connect with any wall similar to thevestibular screen 40; and

a shield 50 that can be made of a rigid plastics material. This shieldis similar to those to be found in conventional pacifiers: it isintended to bear against the outside of the child's lips. The shield 50is provided on its front face with a handle ring 60 and it is connectedto the front of the plate 10 by a second connection portion 70 that isabout one centimeter long and that is as thin as possible so as to avoidinterfering with closure of the lips (about one millimeter thick,depending on the material used).

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the same pacifier. This figure shows thenipple 20 situated behind the plate 10. This figure also shows thevestibular screen 40 as described above with reference to FIG. 1, whichis situated above the plate. The pacifier also has a second vestibularscreen 45 which likewise extends in a direction that is substantiallyperpendicular to the plane of the plate, from the front edge regionthereof, and extending below said plate.

FIG. 3 is a middle longitudinal section view of the pacifier of FIGS. 1and 2 and shows in particular the relative positions of the twovestibular screens 40 and 45: in this figure it can be seen that the twoscreens are situated vertically on opposite sides of the plate 10 butare not in line with each other.

On the contrary, the top screen 40 is advanced a little relative to thebottom screen 45 so as to define an offset δ between the rear faces ofthe two screens that is about 2 mm. This offset can also be seen in FIG.4 and is for the purpose of encouraging proper relative positioning ofthe top and bottom dental arches, the top arch needing to be slightlyfurther forward than the bottom arch so as to enable the teeth of thetop arch to overlap the teeth of the bottom arch.

This offset occurs only over the front portions of the vestibularscreens 40 and 45, with these screens being extended towards the rearends of the limbs of the U-shaped plate so that their respective insidefaces make contact with the dental arches which extend in register witheach other in the vertical direction, such that the offsets establishedbetween the top and bottom dental arches relates solely to thelongitudinal direction and corresponds to the middle axis of the mouth.

In an embodiment not shown in the figure and intended more particularlyfor babies and very young children, the vestibular screen 45 extends inregister with the screen 40 in a direction perpendicular to the plane ofthe plate 10.

With children whose teeth have not yet erupted, there is no need toprovide an offset δ between the screens 40 and 45; furthermore,eliminating the offset enables the pacifier to be symmetrical about thebite plane of the plate 10, thus avoiding any risk of the pacifier beingplaced upside-down in the mouth of a young child.

As mentioned above, the plate 10 is intended to receive the top andbottom dental arches of the child on its two faces respectively, andthus defines a bite plane. It must also be as fine as possible so thatits thickness does not interfere with closing the mouth. In practice,the thickness of the plate is substantially equivalent to the thicknessof the plates of orthodontic aligners, i.e. it is of millimeter order;

By making the faces of the plate 10 abrasive, it is possible to erodethe milk teeth of a child if used with a child whose teeth have alreadyappeared. Such erosion encourages lateral movements of the jaws and thusencourages the stomatognathic system to function in full.

FIG. 5 shows how the pacifier of the invention is positioned in themouth of a child. In this figure it can be seen that the limbs of theplate 10 extend rearwards as far as the location of the molars, whosepositions are identified by dashed lines. This makes it possible toensure that the faces of the plate co-operate with the entire length ofeach dental arch.

It can also be seen that the top arch A1 bears against the top of theplate while coming into forward abutment against the rear face of thetop vestibular screen 40, while the bottom arch A2 comes into abutmentagainst the bottom vestibular screen 45 which is situated slightlybehind the top vestibular screen: the offset δ between the arches A1 andA2 ensures they are properly positioned. As mentioned above, it is alsopossible with a pacifier for a baby or a very young child to have anoffset δ of zero.

The lips of the child come to bear against the respective front faces ofthe vestibular screens 40 and 45. This contact acts on the lips andreinforces their tone, thereby contributing to overall stimulation ofthe stomatognathic system.

The connection portion 30 between the plate and the nipple is elastic soas to enable the nipple to move rearwards when pulled by the tongue ofthe child, while nevertheless continuously urging said nipple towardsthe plate (forwards).

This elasticity of the connection portion 30 can be obtained by makingsaid portion out of a plastics material that is more elastic than thematerial used for the plate 10 and the nipple 20, or by designing theshape of this portion in such a manner as to have a narrow section, orindeed by implementing any other known means such as a connectionportion 30 capable of moving longitudinally relative to the plate andassociated with a spring, as taught by document EP 0 199 005 (Rodam SA).

The elasticity of the connection portion 30 serves to reinforce thechild's motivation to interact with the nipple, which then has dynamicbehavior similar to that of the breast. The distance between the nippleand the rear of the plate is adapted so that the nipple comes intoregister with the back of the tongue, thus enabling proper co-operationbetween the child's tongue and the nipple.

It can thus be seen that the pacifier of the invention performs thefollowing functions simultaneously:

firstly it provides proper relative positioning of the dental arches inthe mouth of a baby or a child, by means of the configuration of theplate 10 and of the vestibular screens 40 and 45.

secondly it causes the stomatognathic system to function; unlikeconventional oral appliances, this device is not intended to operatestatistically. On the contrary, the device of the invention stronglystimulates dynamic functioning of the stomatognathic system; not onlymust the child move the bottom jaw forwards to position the lower archA2 beneath the plate 10 and against the lower vestibular screen 45, butalso the nipple connected to the pacifier by the elastic connection 30strongly stimulates the tongue of the child. This second stimulationprovides a kind of “motor” causing the child's stomatognathic system tofunction, with the child finding satisfaction in the process ofinteraction with the nipple via the tongue and the palate; and

finally, pacifiers of the invention act like conventional pacifiers tosoothe the child.

In an embodiment not shown in the figures, it is also possible toprovide projecting points on the front faces of the vestibular screens40 and 45 to further reinforce the tone of the lips which press againstthese front faces.

FIG. 6 shows a variant embodiment of the pacifier of the invention, inwhich the plate 10 is associated not only with a vestibular screen 40 onits front edge, but also with another screen 80, substantially parallelto the screen 40, and extending from the rear edge of the plate. In thisvariant, an aligner has thus been constituted on the top face of theplate 10 for the purpose of positioning the upper dental arch of thechild.

The screen 80 which projects from the rear edge of the plate can projectupwards only, as shown in FIG. 6 or it can project from both sides ofthe plane of the plate so as also to constitute an aligner on the bottomface of the plate in co-operation with the bottom vestibular screen 45.

The pacifiers described can be manufactured using any conventionalmeans: the pacifier can be made by molding a plastics or rubber materialto constitute a subassembly comprising the plate 10 and the variousscreens projecting from its edges, the connection portion 30, and thenipple 20, while the connection portion 70, the shield 50, and the ring60 can be assembled to the remainder of the pacifier in a subsequentstep. It is also possible to envisage molding using a plurality ofmaterials, in which case the elasticity of the material constituting theconnection portion 30 can be greater than that of the other moldedportions. It is also possible to make the entire pacifier as a singleone-piece molding of a single material, with the elasticity of theportion 30 then being obtained by giving said portion a suitable shape(e.g. a narrowing of its section).

As mentioned above, the invention can also be implemented in a teat fora baby's bottle, as shown in FIG. 7. Under such circumstances, theshield 50 and the handle ring 60 are replaced by a ring 100 for fixingonto a bottle and by a hollow dome 110 integrally molded with theportion 70 connecting with the plate.

The other elements of the teat (plate, screens, nipple) are similar tothe elements implemented in the pacifier, except that a longitudinalchannel 90 passes right through the plate 10, the connection portion 30,and the nipple 20 so as to connect an orifice 91 opening out into theinternal cavity of the dome 110 in register with the bottle to a secondorifice 92 that opens out through the surface of the nipple.

In this embodiment as a teat for a baby's bottle, the dental arches ofthe baby or the child are thus positioned during feeding. All of thevariants mentioned above concerning a pacifier are applicable to a teatin accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 8a an 8 b show two embodiments of the nipple 20. The nipple inFIG. 8a is of conventional spherical shape. The nipple of FIG. 8b isflattened on top so as to facilitate co-operation between the top of thenipple and the child's palate. The nipple can have any ergonomic shape,for example it can flare on the sides of its top portion so as toco-operate effectively with the side portions of the child's palate.

As mentioned above, the invention is for babies and young children. Itis possible to provide various sizes of teat as a function of the sizeof the child's mouth.

By way of indication, a teat for use with a newborn baby should have aplate that is compatible with dental arches having a maximum width (asmeasured at the rear ends of the dental arch) of about 3 centimeters;under such circumstances, the spacing between the two rear ends of thevestibular screen 40, which are substantially in register with eachother, should be slightly greater than that, since the two ends of thescreen are on the outside of the rear ends of the dental arch.

Still for a newborn baby, the length of the dental arch (distancemeasured in the longitudinal direction of the mouth) is about twocentimeters; the plate 10 can then be comparable in length or slightlylonger.

As shown in FIGS. 9a and 9 b, which show a pacifier for a baby or a veryyoung child, the plate 10 can also extend only in the front portion ofthe child's mouth, since the teeth situated towards the rear ends of thedental arches do not generally erupt before the age of three. Under suchcircumstances, the plate 10 extends over about 1.5 centimeters on eitherside of the middle axis of the teat (whereas the screen 40 can extendfurther back).

In general, the width of the plate 10 can be about 5 millimeters in themiddle region of the plate (width l1), and if the plate extends towardsthe rear ends of the dental arches (in particular for children agedthree or more, which corresponds to the device shown in FIGS. 10a and 10b), it can be about 8 millimeters towards the ends of the plate (widthl2), so that the width of the plate corresponds to the width of theteeth or the dental arches.

Because of the offset δ between the screens 40 and 45, the width of theplate 10 which is about 5 millimeters in its middle region, is reducedon the bottom face of the plate, by a value corresponding to δ.

As mentioned above, pacifiers or teats of the invention can be made as aone-piece molding of a plastics material (such as rubber, silicone, . .. ). The thickness of the plate 10 which is of millimeter order isselected to be strong enough to withstand the action of the teeth andthe dental arches and in particular to avoid being punctured in use,however the thickness must be as small as possible in order to avoiddevelopment of a gap between the dental arches.

As mentioned above, the nipple 20 must extend over the back of thechild's tongue, so its length L can be about 2.5 centimeters, therebyextending rearwards in such a manner that its rear edge is about 3centimeters behind the screen 40.

The nipple typically extends towards the rear of the teat so as toextend beyond the rear ends of the limbs of the U-shaped plate 10, suchthat with a teat intended for a child aged more than three (FIGS. 10aand 10 b) said limbs can extend about 3 centimeters behind thevestibular screen 40, with the nipple projecting about 5 millimetersbeyond the ends of the limbs.

The height h1 of the upper vestibular screen 40 can be about 8millimeters, and that of the lower vestibular screen 45 can be about 5millimeters for a child aged less than three (height h2 in FIG. 9b) andabout 8 millimeters for an older child (height h2′ in FIG. 10b).

FIGS. 9a to 10 b show that the pacifier comprises not only vestibularscreens 40 and 45 which extend from the front of the plate 10, but alsoa screen 85 which extends from the rear edge of the plate 10 at anoblique orientation both downwards and rearwards, so as to form an angleof about 45° with the plane of the plate 10.

The height h of such a screen 45 (i.e. its maximum extent in alongitudinal section plane of the teat) can be about 6 millimeters.

The nipple can be substantially round in shape when seen from above, soas to fill the child's mouth in the same manner as a breast duringfeeding. In FIGS. 9a and 10 a, the nipple is thus generally in the formof a circle having a diameter of about 2.5 centimeters.

This nipple need not extend in line with the plane of the plate 10, butcan extend upwards at an angle of bout 30° relative to said plane sothat the nipple at rest extends rearwards over a length of about 2.5centimeters and upwards over a height of about 1.5 centimeters.

What is claimed is:
 1. A teat for a baby or a child, the teat comprisinga plate on which the dental arches rest and defining a bite plane, saidplate being terminated towards the front by a vestibular screen againstwhich at least one of the dental arches comes into abutment in a desiredposition, and said plate being shaped to have limbs extending along atleast a portion of the dental arches, said plate being secured to meansprojecting forwards out from the mouth, the teat further having a nippleprojecting from the rear of the plate and connected thereto by elasticmeans, enabling the nipple to move away from the vestibular screen whilethen applying a return force to the nipple urging it towards thevestibular screen, said nipple extending rearwards beyond the ends ofthe limbs of said plate, said nipple being in register with the backportion of the tongue when the teat is in operation in the mouth of thebaby or child so as to co-operate with the tongue and the palate andstimulate movement analogous to that of suckling, so that the teatperforms simultaneously the functions of providing proper relativepositioning of the dental arches in the mouth of the baby or child, bymeans of the configuration of the plate and of the vestibular screen,and of stimulating the tongue and a dynamic functioning of thestomatognathic system.
 2. A teat according to claim 1, characterized inthat the vestibular screen comprises: a top portion situated above thebite plane; and a bottom portion situated below the bite plane andoffset rearwards relative to the top portion.
 3. A teat according toclaim 2, characterized in that the offset between the top and bottomportions of the vestibular screen is about 1 mm to 3 mm.
 4. A teataccording to claim 3, characterized in that the means projectingforwards out from the mouth comprise an element for closing a baby'sbottle, and the teat has a channel passing longitudinally there throughto enable a baby or a child to suck a liquid contained in the bottle. 5.A teat according to claim 2, characterized in that the means projectingforwards out from the mouth comprise an element for closing a baby'sbottle, and the teat has a channel passing longitudinally there throughto enable a baby or a child to suck a liquid contained in the bottle. 6.A teat according to claim 1, characterized in that a substantiallyvertical wall is integrally formed with the rear edge of the plate andco-operates with the vestibular screen to define an aligner forreceiving the dental arches.
 7. A teat according to claim 6,characterized in that the means projecting forwards out from the mouthcomprise an element for closing a baby's bottle, and the teat has achannel passing longitudinally there through to enable a baby or a childto suck a liquid contained in the bottle.
 8. A teat according to claim1, characterized in that said plate is generally U-shaped, with limbsextending rearwards to the rear ends of the dental arches.
 9. A teataccording to claim 8, characterized in that the means projectingforwards out from the mouth comprise an element for closing a baby'sbottle, and the teat has a channel passing longitudinally there throughto enable a baby or a child to suck a liquid contained in the bottle.10. A teat according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate, thevestibular screen, and the nipple are integrally molded.
 11. A teataccording to claim 10, characterized in that the surface of the plateincludes abrasive means.
 12. A teat according to claim 11, characterizedin that the means projecting forwards out from the mouth comprise ashield for pressing against the front faces of the lips or a handlering.
 13. A teat according to claim 12, characterized in that the meansprojecting forwards out from the mouth comprise an element for closing ababy's bottle, and the teat has a channel passing longitudinally therethrough to enable a baby or a child to suck a liquid contained in thebottle.
 14. A teat according to claim 11, characterized in that themeans projecting forwards out from the mouth comprise an element forclosing a baby's bottle, and the teat has a channel passinglongitudinally there through to enable a baby or a child to suck aliquid contained in the bottle.
 15. A teat according to claim 10,characterized in that the means projecting forwards out from the mouthcomprise an element for closing a baby's bottle, and the teat has achannel passing longitudinally there through to enable a baby or a childto suck a liquid contained in the bottle.
 16. A teat according to claim1, characterized in that the means projecting forwards out from themouth comprise an element for closing a baby's bottle, and the teat hasa channel passing longitudinally therethrough to enable a baby or achild to suck a liquid contained in the bottle.